


Harry Potter and the Fifth House

by thedivinemsem



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29997120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedivinemsem/pseuds/thedivinemsem
Summary: Harry Potter cannot have a normal year, even in an Alternate story line. Who knew Emrys could be a house? Or that enemies could be friends? In this story, the impossible becomes possible.
Relationships: Alicia Spinnet/Fred Weasley, Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Harry Potter and the Fifth House

Harry's POV

I was sitting on the floor of the fragile shack, thinking over the last 24 hours. My life had been turned upside down by those letters. Out of all the things they could have signified, magic had never even crossed my mind. Now that Hagrid had told me a little about magic, explaining that all those odd occurrences were the result of my own accidental magic, I felt better about what was going to happen. I felt like I understood what was going on, like now there wasn't a big cloud of uncertainty hanging over my head. Every feeling of strangeness and confusion was because of the magic in me.

I had to wake Hagrid up when an owl came in the window (why did wizards use owls in the first place?) because I had no idea what the creature wanted from me. After learning about the money used in the magical world, Hagrid and I were quickly up and off to Diagon Alley. Apparently this was a popular wizarding shopping district in London and for attendees of Hogwarts specifically it stocked the supplies students would need for the school year. To get to Diagon Alley however we had to go through a pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron'. From the way onlookers were completely ignoring the pub, it seemed to me that non-magical people may not be able to see it.

Inside was a little startling at first. When Hagrid and I walked in the place was buzzing, people talking over food and drinks. But then they noticed Hagrid. And when they noticed Hagrid they noticed me.  
And no one has ever noticed me. As everyone stopped doing what they were doing and stared at me, it was dead silent. I heard a glass break, but the stares didn't go away.

"Pleased to meet you Mr Potter," a man said, coming up to shake my head. I was confused, not knowing how to respond to this stranger.

"No prob-" I went to say, before the man moved along to be replaced by another person. As people kept coming up, shaking my hand, hugging me, one lady kissing me; Hagrid was guiding me forward, trying to push us through the pub.

"Hagrid, why didn't you tell me it'd be like this?" I asked him, smiling at a new person.

I heard Hagrid laughing behind me. "Harry, yeh wouldn't have believed me if I had, now would yeh?"

I realised this was true. I mean, who was this famous? I shook my head at that immediately, thinking about how egotistical it sounded. Eventually the crowd of people died down, and we were faced with a slightly hunched over man.

"Sorry about that Hagrid, Mr Potter," he said to us, greeting Hagrid with a handshake and then me. I smiled at him, sensing that he wouldn't fawn over me. "My name's Tom, I own the Leaky Cauldron. If you ever need anything Mr Potter, you just let me know."

"Sure thing Tom, thank you," I replied, smiling politely at the nice man. He seemed to be a level head in a crazy universe. I wasn't sure I was going to like this fame thing. But I needed out why I was famous.

"Uh, Hagrid?" I asked, hesitating a little. I didn't know why, but all of a sudden I had a bad feeling about this.

"Yes Harry?" he relied, as we continued to make our way through the bustling Alley. Thankfully it was busy and no one stopped to gawk at him.

"Why exactly am I famous? What did I do?"

Hagrid stopped, looked down at me before pulling me gently into a side corner. "Harry , look, I'm gonna tell yeh the basics, but it ain't gonna be all of it because I didn' know all of it." Hagrid took a deep breath before continuing. "A long time ago, there was a very dark wizard."

"What was his name?" I enquired.

"V-Voldemort, but everyone called him You-Know-Who," Hagrid said, stuttering over his name. "Now, You-Know-Who was killin' a whole lot of people, people that didn' agree with him about the way things should be. And your parents stood against him and he killed 'em. But here's the thing, you survived."

My eyes widened at this fact. I had survived an attack by a dark wizard? That seemed abnormal. "But how did I do it?" I asked him.

Hagrid shrugged, almost helplessly. "That's the thing, innit? No one knows why yeh were the one to stop him. I mean, you were just a toddler, only just passed three years old at the time. But something about you definitely stumped him that night."

"So I'm famous because I was the one that supposedly got rid of Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who," I backtracked, noticing Hagrid's discomfort at the name.

"That's about right," Hagrid said, shrugging. "But don't focus on that Harry. None of that will matter when you get to Hogwarts. Now, let's go get your things."

As we made our way back into the Alley, I looked at the list again. "So what are we getting first Hagrid?"

"Before we do anything we've got to head to Gringotts Harry," Hagrid told me. "It's where witches and wizards keep their gold. Besides, I think you'll need to sort a few things out."

"What things?" I asked curiously.

"Not to sure, teh be frank with yeh. But I do know Dumbledore said that because yeh were the last one in the Potter family things would be a little different for yeh." I had to blink a few times, hearing that. 

I mean, I knew my parents were gone but to think that I was literally the only person left in my family. There was not one single Potter on this Earth. Not exactly how I wanted to start my magical journey.

"Bow Harry," Hagrid mumbled to me as we passed into the bank and past some ferocious looking guards. I did as he said, mindful of the weapons that each was holding. We made our way to an open teller, where Hagrid gruffly cleared his throat.

"'Scuse me, but I've got Mr Harry Potter here. He'd like teh make a withdrawal from his vault and take an inheritance test," Hagrid said.

The goblin did not look up. "Do you have his key?" he asked, scribbling on a new form he had pulled from under his bench.

Hagrid rummaged through his pockets, pulling out all manner of odd things. After a ball of twine and three small dog bones he produced a small gold key which I assumed would grant me access to my  
vault. "Here we go, knew it was in there somewhere."

The goblin studied the key before nodding, making his way down from his perch. "Mr Potter if you'd follow me this way. Your companion is welcome to wait in our lobby while you are in testing." I looked behind me at Hagrid you just nodded and smiled before making his way to benches in the corner. On his own he took up three chairs, with people in other spots being unable to avoid shooting curious glances at him.

"If you would Mr Potter, I do have many reports to file," the goblin teller intoned from next to me, pulling my attention. We made our way through one of the many side doors into a hallway. We passed by several other doors, each with names on them, before stopping in front of one labelled 'Long Claw'. "This is the office of the Honourable Long Claw," the goblin told me. "He is the Account Manager for the Potter and Black accounts. He will handle your test this morning."

"Thank you very much sir," I intoned, bowing my head. "I'm sorry but I didn't get your name."

The goblin looked a little surprised before, dare I say it, smirking. "My apologies, Mr Potter, my name is Griphook."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Griphook," I said, holding out my hand just as Uncle Vernon did whenever he met other men he knew when we were out.

Griphook's eyebrows visibly rose at this point, before he gently took my hand. "I assure you Mr Potter, the pleasure is all mine. I will see you at the conclusion of your test when I take you to your trust vault."

I nodded at him before watching him walk away. I then turned to face Long Claw's door, raising my hand to knock. "Enter," a low voice instructed from the other side.

I did so, looking around the big but dimly lit room. I spotted another goblin sitting at a desk and I paused to bow slightly when I was stood in front of him. "Hello sir," I said when I stood straight again. 

"I'm Harry Potter and I'm here to take an inheritance test."

The goblin nodded, smiling slightly at me. "Ah, Mr Potter, I have been expecting you. Your guardian, a Mr Dumbledore, informed us that you would be here sometime this week. Now to the point of business. Normally you and I would not be meeting in this fashion until you reached your magical majority, but due to the fact that you are the last remaining member of your family certain allowances must be made. First and foremost you are granted the title of Lord of the Most Noble and Ancient House Potter. However," he said, looking up from his papers. "You are restricted in your position. While you have the ability to use the honourific in society and you can exercise certain decisions about your finances, you cannot yet vote on the Wizenagamont or organise marriage contracts, both of which you will be able to do come your fourteenth birthday."

"I'm sorry to interrupt Long Claw," I said, my mind whirring. "But what is the Wizengamot? And marriage contracts?"

"You do not know of these things?" Long Claw asked, seeming very surprised.

"No, I've lived with my non magical family for as long as I can remember," I explained to him.

He frowned at this news. "That is not the way your guardian should have handled this situation, Mr Potter-"

"-Harry, please," I said, smiling. "And I've never even met this Dumbledore person, I'm afraid."

Long Claw began growling under his breath. "Rest assured Harry that Gringotts will be investigating this matter. Now, if you are agreeable, we will perform the inheritance test and observe which families  
and titles you are linked to. While you are immersed in this process I will immediately floo call Mr Dumbledore and ask for his presence. Does this suit you?"

"What happens when he comes here?" I asked, feeling very thrown off by the situation. "Will I get to leave my relatives finally?"

"Why would you wish to leave Harry?" Long Claw asked curiously.

I fidgeted. "My family don't treat me very well. Up until recently I lived in a cupboard under the stairs and I don't really get fed a lot." I felt uncomfortable being this open with a stranger, but Long Claw seemed assured and trustworthy.

Long Claw's frown intensified. "This is very serious Harry. It will be resolved today. Now, if you will, I'd like to prick your thumb on this utensil so that I may test your blood." I did as asked, pricking myself on a sharp silver tool which promptly moved back into the small box it had been protruding out of. It obviously began working, because paper was coming out of a bigger box next to the first. Eventually the paper stopped and Long Claw picked up the sheets. He flicked through them quickly, nodding absentmindedly as he went.

"It is as I expected Harry. You are the sole heir to the Potter estate. Through that fact you receive control of the family vault owned by your parents, your trust vault and a Potter archive vault, accessible by anyone with the Potter name. In addition to this you are labelled the Heir Presumptive to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, through the actions of your Godfather Sirius Black. However, your Godfather is incarcerated under suspicion of murder, so you do have rights to act in his stead."

"My Godfather is a murderer?" I asked, aghast at this information.

"According to the wizarding Ministry of Magic," he said. "However, investigators of the Goblin nation believe there to be a case for wrongful imprisonment, after having spoken with your Godfather. We are still trying to launch a case but the Ministry is hitting our lawyers with several injunctions."

I nodded. "If he were cleared, would I be able to live with him?" I wondered aloud.

Long Claw nodded. "He was left custody of you. Now, back to your inheritance. In addition to those two titles, you are also the only living individual with a significant claim to the title of Lord Peverell by blood. The Peverell family is very ancient but descent became almost solely feminine in nature, until the birth of your grandfather, the first male born to your great-grandmother's family in centuries. Also, though you hold the title through majority blood right, you do not hold the family name and so will not be styed Harry James Peverell, instead only holding the title of Lord. These are the extent of the Lordships you are entitled to via blood or presumption, as in the case of House Black," Long Claw finished.

"So what does all of this mean?" I asked him.

"This actually means very little for you right now," Long Claw explained. "You have access to your trust vault, which is refilled at the beginning of each year. When you turn fourteen you will gain access to  
the final two Potter vaults, the sole Peverell vault and restricted access to the Black family vault. Until then you are able to instill in your place a trusted advisor. He or she will act in your stead regarding your financial and political obligations."

"Who will this be?" I asked. "I don't know many magical people."

"It can be anyone. So long as it is someone you trust," Long Claw said. "It can be specified at a later date, if you wish."

"Would you be able to do it?" I asked curiously. "If you've been looking after all my accounts, I don't see why you shouldn't continue with this also."

"It would be an pleasure Harry," Long Claw said, giving me the goblin version of a smile. "It is very, very rare for a wizard to show such respect and courtesy to a goblin like you have done today. You honour me with this choice."

"No, no," I hurried to explain. "You've already helped me so much. Thank you, by the way. Most adults don't really listen to what I want," I mumbled towards the end, looking down as I scratched my head slightly.

Long Claw nodded wisely. "We goblins know how it is to be overlooked by mankind. Humans usually are disrespectful at best. Rest assured Harry that I will ensure I carry out these duties with respect and honour in mind. And I will of course discuss any decisions with you beforehand."

"Thank you again, Long Claw," I said warmly.

"Good, it is decided," Long Claw said, nodding as he scribbled down something at the bottom of one of the new parchment sheets. "Now, I will have Griphook come down and escort you to your trust vault. Feel free to retrieve any amount of money you wish for your immediate use in the alley. For future use I have instructed Griphook to outfit you with a pouch that will allow you to summon ammounts of money at your whim."

"How-?" I began, only to cut myself off. "Magic, huh?" I questioned weakly.

Long Claw simply chuckled in a dry manner. "Indeed." At this moment the door opened, admitting Griphook, who was indeed carrying a small pouch. "I will leave you in Griphook's capable hands Harry. When you are finished he will return you to my office and we will discuss with Mr Dumbledore plans for your future, including tutors and new accommodation." I nodded, standing with Long Claw and leaning over the desk to gently shake his clawed hand.

"Thank you again sir, you've been the biggest help possible," I said, smiling. I turned towards the door, noticing Griphook's look of surprise.

Just as Griphook was leading me from the room I looked once more over my shoulder at Long Claw. Just before we stepped out I watched my account manager kneel down at a fire, throw in some powder and stick his head in. I jumped slightly, seeing this, turning to Griphook to see him chuckling.

"You have much to learn, Lord Potter," Griphook said.

"Harry, please," I told the goblin, even as I silently agreed. Yes, I think I've got lots to learn.


End file.
